Chapter 21

It was almost dawn when Leon and then Harry returned. They quickly got their vehicles under cover and then came into the building where Sheila and I were located.

They sat down to fresh coffee and breakfast. All their men and women along with the rest of our party were eating. I smiled and said, “Okay, Guys, what did you find?”

Leon said, “We found it and it’s big, much bigger, than the one we took out.

“We ran together to Maysville where we split. Harry followed US 62 while we were on a state route set of roads. Our route was more direct while Harry’s route swung more northerly. We were both headed for Chillicothe though.” He looked at Harry.

Harry picked up the narrative. “We found the base first including an opening for ground troops facing us. We stopped as soon as we saw it but no one was standing sentry that we could see. The only activities we saw were the vats. There were six that we could see with two sets of cages with people inside them. The vats and the cages are set well inside the perimeter of the base though there is nothing between the cages and the edge of the base.

“We had picked up US 50 to go easterly to Chillicothe. This base is huge. We didn’t see it all from our vantage point and hadn’t reached Chillicothe when we came upon it.”

Leon said, “On the other hand, we didn’t see the base until we had come upon Chillicothe. We saw its eastern side. We saw four vats and two cages. We also saw their air ship area. It looks like over a third of their ships are down for problems, maybe more.

“I think we need to send teams with plans to stay for a night and a day before we can attack with confidence. We need to get an idea of what they’re doing from where we were, the tentacles coming form the vats were the only things moving. We could see some buildings but don’t know their use. We need more time and should encircle the base before going in. It may take a multiple pronged attack to cover everything in a small amount of time.”

After a pause, he said, “Alex’s radio directions were good.”

Alex said, “Thanks. The main thing worrying me about using radio more is that we don’t know who might be listening. I’m finding what I think are the aliens at six megahertz. I want to perform some more checks before attempting any other than very short live transmissions.”

I had a thought. “Alex, we are listening to the aliens’ transmissions?”

“Yes, Sir. But we don’t understand them.”

“Okay. I know it’s an assumption. If they might react like us if something happened, would their radio transmissions increase?”

“Yes, Sir. We could get a hint that something is happening.”

“Okay, Guys, what do you think about recon?”

Leon said, “We have a pretty good idea about the size and shape of the base. What we need is more info on the interior of the base. We need more light but there are a couple of hills if we watched in the daylight. We would be able to see into the base.”

I said, “Let’s get this organized. I want all the squad leaders to have a look at the base in daylight. If someone is good at drawing, a map showing the layout of the alien base would be great.”

One of the ladies rescued from the vat cage said, “I’m pretty good at drawing. I used to do pen and ink drawings for art shows before. I’ll get a pack of pencils and a piece of poster paper and draw to scale. Depending upon the amount of detail involved, it will take one or two hours.”

Finally, I said, “Okay. Rebecca, you’ll go if you can find drawing tools. All squad leaders will go. Sheila will remain here and in command while we’re gone. Remember, we may see things that are unpleasant but we can’t do anything about them. We’re observers to plan our assault. Anyone who can’t abide by that needs to stay. We’ll get a substitute for them. From experience, I know it won’t be pretty and we must be disciplined. Any questions?” There were none. “Okay. Get some rest. We pull out at nine and will be gone all the next day.”

Sheila and I curled up together and napped off and on for a few hours. We cooked some supper.

The squad leaders and Rebecca assembled. We selected just enough vehicles to not be too crowded and left. We knew where we were going or, at least, the driver of our Humvee did. We pulled up at a place where we would be hidden during the day. Once we had stopped, we left our vehicles and walked up to the rise. We looked out at the alien base. Our information was correct. This base was about twice the size of the one we had taken out! We all settled in to watch their activities for the evening and next day.

Rebecca’s drawing was taking shape during the next day. We were well spread out to hopefully avoid attracting attention of the aliens. We were also watching their activities which were considerably less than at their other base. There was still a lot of coming and going but the overall volume was down. It was hard to tell but I thought all the ships we saw in the air were round trips with no new ships appearing or leaving and not returning.

I tried to spend time with each squad leader and even watched Rebecca as she drew the base. She was good drawing straight lines without a ruler. I found it marvelous to watch.

“What?” She asked self-consciously.

“I’m just watching you draw. It’s marvelous.”

“Thank you. I hope it helps us later.”

“It will. A lot of people will see that drawing. Knowing where to go will save lives when we attack. People who haven’t seen this place will know it from your drawing.”

The day came to a close and we returned close to the vehicles. When it was full dark, we headed back to our current place. It didn’t take long since we knew the road and could make good time. We returned to our strip center which had been quiet. Sheila greeted me with a kiss.

We slept all morning. At lunchtime, we gathered for a meal. Some had breakfast and others had lunch. A few even had a supper/dinner type meal. It was varied with quiet, but enjoyable, kidding about meal choices. Nancy and Joe had joined us in a heavy breakfast.

After breakfast, we gathered together. I said, “We’ve seen the base. It’s bigger than the one in Alabama so we will be attacking mounted. My thought is to develop a plan, get a good day’s sleep, and then attack. We’re used to operating in the night and the aliens aren’t. It gives us an extra leg up on them. I want all the advantages we can get.”

We went over Rebecca’s drawing developing a plan for our attack. I was hesitant to mark her drawing until she said, “Go ahead, Riley. Mark it up with a plan. While you guys rest, I will take it around to the squads and explain it.” I started marking on it and talking over a plan that should work and, hopefully, result in no casualties and lives being saved from the cages.